Divine Connection
by Hikari Reizumi
Summary: The seven seishis have been reborn in Miaka's world. Due to a new predicament, they must search for their other half in order to complete their identity and with new relationships arising, their own troubles would make them vulnerable.
1. Prologue

**Divine Connection**

_A/N: This story takes place after the prologue of the first OVA; when Tamahome decides if he is willing to live in Miaka's world as Taka and in process, losing his memories._

_I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. They belong to Yuu Watase and co. _

-o-

Prologue 

"_Stones?"_

"_Yes, you may able to return to her world but you will no longer hold your memories. They are going to be inside seven magical stones which will scatter throughout this universe."_

"_Who cares? As long as he finds Miaka, then everything'll be okay."_

"_No, you go it all wrong. Even his memories of Miaka would be erased. Therefore, he would not know **how **and **who** he'll be looking for. He would live life as a regular human in her world with no recollections of being a seishi."_

"_That would be hard, you know."_

"_Yeah, but love CAN make a difference. They already bent the rule once. This time, they can make a miracle happen!"_

"_So what do you say, Tamahome?"_

_Tamahome looked down on the ground, his fingers curled, forming a fist on either side of him. He pondered. He closed his eyes, tightly shut; the others were looking at him, expectantly. They surrounded him in semi-circle, waiting for his decision. Taiitskun, along with the Nyan-nyans stood before him, their eyes staring down at him, gently. He lifted up his head, then licked his lower lip nervously. His eyes formed tears, making them glossy. Finally, he said with a sigh._

"_I cannot endure losing all of these precious experiences that are already imprinted on my mind. Our love will live on forever, that I know. I'll stay here."_

"_But Tama-"_

"_No. I won't sacrifice these. There are no full chances of being able to see her. At least, with these, I know for sure that we love each other. She'll understand."_

_With those final words, Tamahome walked away from the group. All pair of eyes stared at him. Then, voicing everyone's thought, Tasuki said "Jus' like Tatara an' Suzuno."_

-o-

Sitting on a bench under a cherry blossom, Miaka waited for her brother and Tetsuya with her best friend, Yui. Her green eyes scanned the road for a red convertible car as she fingered the strap of her bag, thinking about the book that changed her and her heart irrevocably. She looked at the girl with her, then sighed wistfully, averting her eyes to look at the flowers above them.

"Yui…did you feel anything for Nakago?" she asked slowly, trying to feel if she offended her friend. When she brought her head down, she saw Yui with a small smile upon her lips.

"No, but he's not such a bad guy. He just had a rough childhood and didn't know any better as he grows up. He…protected me. Even just as his priestess." She replied, her thoughts were very different from what she was saying. 'But I did fell in love…' Unconsciously, she lifted her right hand and traced the creases and the outlines of her school uniform's ribbon.

This did not go unnoticed by the former priestess of Suzaku as one thought flew in her head, 'Suboshi…' She stared at the fumbling hand of her friend, a shy smile forming on her lips. She sighed for the umpteenth time of the day before they were taken out of their stupor by a honking car.

They looked over, searching for the car with wide eyes. The sound had been a surprising scream that went through their heads, almost knocking the daylights out of them. Scared out of their wits, they stood up, their knees still shaking from the unexpected. With their bags on their shoulder, they found a red car with Tetsuya waving at them to come over.

"What about Tetsuya?" Miaka blurted out, then slapped both of her hands to cover her mouth. Eyes wide, she slowly looked at Yui and blinked. The taller girl just continued on walking, her face unreadable. Not expecting an answer, Miaka just dropped the subject and looked ahead of her where her brother and his friend were waiting.

Yui looked down on the ground, passing with each step she took. Then, with a mutter so the said boy will not hear, she said, "He's only like a brother to me. He helped me throughout the whole thing…hehehe, even caught me naked…but I don't feel anything for Mr. Glasses-Man."

Miaka giggled at the nick name that her brother used for his friend, which she and Yui had grown accustomed to. She waved her right hand at the guys in the car, her left holding the strap of her bag. She turned to her companion, a bright smile plastered on her face then called out, "Race ya!" The two girls started to run, laughing all the way to the vehicle. 

-o-

When they settled down in the backseat, a colourful English magazine caught Yui's eyes. She picked it up and started to scan through. An article interested her and began reading it. '_A boy from New York, at the age of 13 is coming to Japan to compete in the World's Smartest that is being held in Tokyo. Duke Prio, also known as Doukun Ou is the youngest competitor…'_

At the same time, a teen magazine caught her friend's eyes. All the while she was reading the article, Miaka flipped the book open and contained a startled gasp. She read the contents, '…_this delicious ice- cream cake is best for dessert. Andy Won's favourite. For more information about this Chinese singer, read pg. 4.' _She skimmed through the rest until her eyes settled on the given page. She started reading the page of one of her favourite singer and lingered on the phrase '_…he will be coming to Tokyo, Japan to sing live…'_

"Oh my…" Yui and Miaka said in unison. They looked at the magazine they were currently reading, too engrossed to notice anything else. However, Tetsuya broke the spell when he coughed lightly to catch their attention.

"What has gotten you girls so wrapped up in? I mean…you don't see Miaka reading everyday." He joked. He got a chuckle from the driver's seat and a giggle behind him; he was too content to see the seething girl who was ready to pound the life out of him, the magazine being crumpled in her hands.

Miaka, then, sat back down, her head staring out the window as she looked at the passing view. She gave another sigh, the magazine lay forgotten beside her. Keisuke looked at his sister on the rear-view mirror and held back his own sigh. 'She thinks she can just put on that happy façade. It's not going to work. No mask would be able to conceal her pain.'

With her head somewhere in the other universe, Miaka's thought went back to her adventures. She certainly missed all of them. After the battle was ended, she picked up the book and she saw the decision that Tamahome made. She fully understood why he did such thing. She knows that he'll be in the same pain as her, if not more. Then she pondered about her feelings and the way she felt for _all_ of her seishis. She loved all of them. And not just only love either. She was _in love_ in all of them. Not all romantically for some like Chiriko, though.

Tamahome was the first seishi she met. With the green hair and big round eyes and his love for money had made her fall for him. He treasured her as well. The way he protected her, said comforting words to her that made her heart melt and how he handled different situations made her think that he was capable of doing a miracle for her. He did.

Hotohori, her second warrior. The one with long silky chestnut hair, his bangs covering his gorgeous yet mysterious golden eyes. The emperor of Konan who cherished his country so that he died protecting it. She loved all irony and how they work. He was an emperor; commanding yet compassionate. Giving love endlessly even if he did not received it as a child. People looked up to him as a ruler, not as a regular human, but nevertheless he did not fail to give eternal devotion for his country.

The third warrior, her best- friend. Nuriko, the willow. Acting like a girl so that his sister could live within him. His strong determination and his pure heart with his smile always attached to his face had her heart beating for him. His easy-going attitude and teasing could always be laughed about. His soft violet eyes that held all his love for her matched his purple braided hair.

The all time clever monk, Chichiri. Her fourth seishi. The bright smile masked every pain and betrayal that had always burdened him since the shattering of their friendship; him, his friend and his fiancée. She had adored him greatly for the strength to carry on.

Tasuki, with his fiery hair that matched his attitude, was a bandit in Mt. Reikaku. He was the fifth Suzaku warrior she met. His great loyalty and caring for his friends had touched her significantly. It reached her heart and soul. His sense of humour had tickled her sensually.

The sixth warrior, Mitsukake had suffered a great deal as well. He failed to protect Shoka – the love of his life. He was a doctor, and because of it, he had put other's welfare before him, causing him death during the great war. She had respected him for his gentleness and benevolence for other people.

Last was the youngest seishi of all, Chiriko. His intelligence and bravery had touched _everyone_ in the group. He was not simply a child, or a boy. He was a man. His maturity had excelled all of them. Even if he looked like a six year old innocent child, he had managed to put his fears aside and helped them throughout their mission.

Miaka looked beside her and saw her friend in the same condition she was in – head tilted, eyes staring out the window with a wistful smile on her face. Sure, even if Yui was not as close to her Seiryuu warriors as she was to hers, she was still affected by all of her seishis. The way they protected her, giving up their life to give her a safe well-being. How they had cared for her, even if they only see her as their priestess. Nonetheless, they were still her protectors, her friends and some, her lovers.

"We're here." Keisuke's voice had broken them from their trance. They kept their sighs to themselves as they picked up their bags and went out of the car, both magazines were forgotten. Tetsuya looked at them, and with a shook of his head, he tried to lighten up the mood.

"I can't believe we're living in the same building." He commented. Keisuke saw his efforts to cheer up both girls and helped his friend.

"Yeah, come to think of it, why don't we give one room up? Miaka can stay with Yui and you can move in with me." 'The less we can pay for the rent, too' Keisuke added silently. Both girls looked at the guys and with a grin, they nodded their heads. He knew what his sister would like, and at least, with this plan, everyone would be satisfied more than the previous living arrangement – a separate room for Yui, another room for Tetsuya and a third room for the Yuuki siblings.

"Really, Keisuke? Awesome! I'll start packing now." Miaka ran towards their building and managed not to hit herself on the wall. Taped on the glass door was a flier with men on uniforms playing soccer. On the bottom, it read _Brazilian soccer players would be visiting Tokyo Japan and would be going on a few selected schools to discuss the requirements of performing different careers, such as being an athlete, with the students. The schools would be the following…Hana Elementary School…Sora Middle School…Jonan High School…_

As the girls passed by the lobby to go up to Miaka's room to pack, they didn't notice the paper hanging on the lobby door. The college guys acknowledge it and read the information given. "Jonan High School, huh? I guess they would be going to their school."

"Hey Keisuke, look at that woman. She keeps staring at me." Tetsuya whispered to his friend while they were waiting for the elevator.

"Uhh…are you sure she's staring at you? I mean, look at those instruments attached to her head." His friend patted him on the back as a calm-down sign.

There, on the lobby's waiting bench was a woman with sunglasses and hearing aid. After the two guys left, she stood up and walked away. Putting more pressure to her ear, the woman said quietly, "Boss, I found him."

-o-

That night, after everything was settled, Miaka laid down on her bed. She gave her room a scrutiny gaze if everything was in order. The bed she was now laying on was beside the window – so every night she can star gaze as much as she want. Her desk was by the foot of her bed and not far off to the right was her clothes drawer. Near the closet was another desk full of jewellery and cosmetics with a mirror on it. On the other corner was a body-length mirror.

Yes. She and Yui had done a great job fixing the room for her. Just across the hallway was Yui's bedroom and at the right end was the bathroom. The other end of the hallway was a big space for the kitchen, living room and the dining room. Beside the living room was a door that leads to the balcony. It was facing the park and the mountain across the horizon miles away. The glass windows were from the ceiling to the floor.

"Hey Miaka," Yui called out. She peeked in her friend's room where she found her lying down. "Do you want to go clubbing tonight?"

"Sure. Just let me grab the right clothes." Miaka looked down on what she was wearing. It was dirty considering that she just fixed a room. "And get cleaned up." She added with a bright grin. She picked up her garments which were consisting of a leather skirt and a halter. Then, she headed out to the bathroom for a quick shower.

-o-

"Hey, hun. I just called the college you are going to go to on Monday, 'kay?" A motherly voice called out to her son.

The boy grunted softly in acknowledgment. They just had moved from Hokkaido and his mother enrolled him in Ration College. A cooking school. No matter what his friends say, the college boy only wanted to cook. It was his hobby and his dream to be a great chef. He got teased plenty of times because of his "maternal care" and his obsession for money, facts that didn't fit together.

"Sure!" he called out after realizing that a mere grunt couldn't be heard from a closed room. Then as an after thought, 'It's only Friday.'

The boy closed his eyes and laid his head on his arm as he sprawled across his bed. He gave out a sigh and let his thoughts fly. 'Is it true that people tend to think a lot when they're in this position?' Then, 'Why is the sky blue?'

With a shake of his head to lose the train of thoughts, he sat up on his bed – causing his long hair to fling on his face – and trotted down the stairs with a thought of food in his mind. 'I'll just grab something for dinner.'

-o-

Yui and Miaka exited the bus and headed to the club. Both girls were in the right age of sixteen; third year of high school. They showed their I.D.'s to the guard. With the approval, they continued inside the building. The D.J. was playing _Gyrate_ by Da Muzicianz featuring Mr. Collipark. After the girls sat down by a circular table – just a foot away to the bar, Miaka made her orders to the bartender.

"I'll have a strawberry colada, please. And give my friend a martini." she ordered. Yui was seating down so she can look after their purses. She paid the bill and slowly carried both of their drinks to the table, as to not spilling them. "Here you go." And set the glasses down on the flat surface.

"Hey Miaka, while you were ordering, I saw this guy with a really weird hairdo."

"Well…what do you expect Yui? I mean, a lot of guys have their brains wired these days. Especially punks."

"It's dyed red, or was it yellow? Anyways, it's also a little bit bushy. Who ever came up with _straight bushy_ hair? And there was a really long tail by the nape of his neck." Yui described the punk's hair with confusion. She also remembered the guy dancing with the him. Another weirdo.

Miaka looked at her, a brow raised in question as she played with the straw of her colada.

"Well…at least he's not bald with a long hair-tail coloured differently." Both girls looked up and tried to imagine. With success, they both shuddered at the thought.

Giving a nod of her head, Yui agreed and said, "True."

After they drank down their snifter, taking small sips at a time, they felt much more in the partying mood. Yui looked at her friend who was just staring on the floor. "Let's go!" She shouted from all the noises and dragged her friend in the dance floor then she began swaying to the beat of the music.

Miaka followed her friend's movement. She took a spot near Yui and began dancing as well. They were a graceful pair, dancing to their hearts' content. They caught most of the eyes in the bar, but they refused any guys who wanted to dance with them. They dance alone, if not, they dance together.

A couple of songs had passed when they decided to take a break. They sat down on their chosen seat and watched the dance floor with keen interest. Their eyes roamed the crowded area. Most people can dance, and others need to work on their moves. Those without backbones sat on their chairs, drinking, talking, making out or a mix of the three.

A circle had formed in the middle of the floor. Shouting with excitement, people cheered on the dancer as he showed of his moves. 'Go, go, go!' They chanted at the same time. This caught the girls' attentions and looked at the source of the noise. Break dancing with free style was what the guy in the middle doing.

"Can you beat him?" Yui looked at her friend; eyebrows rose expectantly. They got off their seat and started to joined the crowd. Miaka adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder after she shrugged them.

"I dunno. I haven't seen him dance before." Making a good point, Yui dropped the subject and looked ahead. The more they got closer to the horde of people, the more Miaka got nervous. She thought that Yui wanted her to challenge the guy. Sure, she was very good at dancing – at every kind – but that doesn't mean no one can beat her. She looked at her friend nervously then looked at the dance floor again.

"Uhh…Yui? You know what? Let's just dance and enjoy ourselves." Miaka told her friend. She wanted to avoid the competition as much as possible and after seeing the guy's fiery-head appearing then disappearing from the little space that the crowd provided for them, she _knew_ that he was good. Nobody can move that fast in a matter of seconds; but the guy managed to do it.

They stopped walking and Yui faced her questioningly. Then she breathed out and said, "Okay, but I just wanted to see the guy." She explained. "Oh well, it's too hot to go to a more populated place, anyway." She agreed and started to dance again.

Miaka breathed in relief then tagged on Yui's example. She took a glance at the dancer once more before looking away. There in the middle of the circle was a fiery red hair and a head with midnight blue tresses.

-o-

Plopping down on the sofa, the two very exhausted girls threw their purses beside them. After having a rough, yet fun, night was a great way to end the school week. Dragging their selves off the couch, they took off their shoes so their feet could relax as well.

After deciding that they could rest better in their room, they shuffled their feet until they got into their respective area of privacy and they dumped themselves on the bed. With a very contented sigh, both Miaka and Yui laid their head on the pillow – still wearing their party clothes and all – instantly drifted into a peacefully deep slumber. The memories of the day's event lay forgotten somewhere in the back of their minds.

-o-

Ring Ring

The loud sound echoed in the room, instantly rousing the inhabitants of the house. Grudgingly, Yui - who was unfortunately the owner of the apartment room; the reason why _she_ had to get the call – got up and headed outside. The phone kept ringing, slowly waking everyone up in the household. She heard her friend grunted and the squeaking of the bed which just confirmed her that her friend moved to get more comfortable.

After what it seems like an eternity, she picked up the phone and muttered a faint hello. She waited for the person on the other line to respond. Receiving none, she repeated herself, only a little bit louder.

"Oh, hello." The caller replied this time. "Is this Yui? It's me Tetsuya." Still not fully awake yet from her sleep, she gave a faint grunt to inform that she was listening. "Anyways," Tetsuya continued, "What time are you guys going to the library? 'Cuz me and my bud are going to research something too."

"**You called me for that!**" Enraged that she was taken off her bed for some stupid schedule, Yui yelled on the speaker. A soft 'be quiet!' could be heard from Miaka's room. Then she whispered, though harshly, "Why couldn't you have called me like when _everyone_ is actually awake in this country? Some people are still asleep, namely the people in here!"

"Sorry. We thought that you're gonna go before lunch." He answered lamely. Searching for a way out of the trouble, he muttered, "Okay, I'll just hang up now."

Yui, with a keen sense, saw this coming. She instantly spoke up before he could actually hang up. "Too late, buster. Besides, who, in their right mind, would_ actually_ go in the library _before lunch_?" She emphasized by making the words slower and their accents thicker.

"Uhh…nerds…um… and geeks?" he guessed and laughed nervously. _No one_ messed with Yui Hongo when she was in a bad mood. She could be really frightening. Waiting for the worse of her to blow up, he held the phone a little farther to his ear. A moment later, he didn't hear anything so he put back the phone against his ear.

"TETSUYA!"

When that got off her system, he interrupted and hastily said – the phone inches from his ear, "Well… look at the time. I gotta go. Bye!"

The busy dial tone met Yui's ear when he hung up. She looked at the instrument she was cradling in her hand for a while before giving up a sigh. She put it down and headed to the couch, hoping to catch some sleep. She sat down and looked at the marble clock on the wall. Nine-twenty five. She pulled herself away from the couch and went to the kitchen instead. No use of going back to sleep when there was only five minutes left.

She heard shuffles from Miaka's room indicating that she was awake. A couple of minutes later, a drowsy girl with dishevelled hair and wrinkled kitten pyjamas came out and met her in the kitchen.

"Who's that?" Words slurred, Yui still managed to understand the words coming out from her friend. Looking away from the breakfast she was making, she faced her friend and grumbled the culprit's name.

Surprise took her out from her state of being sleepy. "What does he want?" Moving around the kitchen, she helped Yui making the breakfast. She took out the jug of orange juice and set it down on the table.

"He was asking what time we will go to the library."

Catching on to the drift of her friend being irritated, Miaka nodded in knowing. "They want to go with us? Why so early to call, though?"

"That's the point!" Yui exclaimed. Good thing that at least someone knew how she felt. She threw her hands up in exasperation, carefully not to hit the prepared meal. She ran both of her hands on her face and threaded them in her hair.

"Well…best to forget about it since we can't do anything for now. We can't let a small thing ruin our day, now can we?" Miaka soothed her friend and sat down on the table getting ready to eat. She helped herself with the foods served on the table and started to gobble them one by one. "Aren't you eating Yui?" She looked up from her food to Yui with an innocent face.

With a chuckle, Yui joked, "You're _never_ going to change, are you?"

-o-

Settling on one of the library tables, the four people started to get ready on their tasks. One by one, they got up to search for the books they needed around the library. Because of the wide variety of books, it was more difficult for them to look for what they need.

Tetsuya and Keisuke already asked the librarian for help and she gave them one but the information given didn't help much. Miaka's head was bent down, her eyebrows furrowed together. She was concentrating very hard but she couldn't help her imagination to fly. Foods would be _always_ in her mind. Yui, on the other hand, was having no trouble at all with her work. She was writing continuously, only pausing when she had to read more.

Their table was almost buried under all the papers and books. Four different piles for on the table and some were still open, laid forgotten somewhere on the small area that was left. Their bags were against the chairs they were sitting on.

A deafening silence could only be heard except for the scrapes of pencils on the paper and the flipping of the pages.

Silence.

When the movement of the chair made sound, the rest of the people looked up to see what was going on. It was Keisuke. He stood up to look for more information books about Mt. Vesuvius and the history of Italy.

Tetsuya, Miaka and Yui went back to their work as Keisuke walked away. He went to the shelves in the World Fact section and slowly went through their labels. Australia…Denmark…. Ecuador ….

He went to another shelf and started to look for the country he was working on. England….Ethiopia….France….He was still far away from what he was searching. He moved two shelves down and started looking again. Ah, he was closer now. Indonesia….India….Italy!

After looking through the books about Italy, he picked up the most appropriate one; the one which gives most of the information he needed – the history, not geography. He went back to their table while looking around the area. There were round tables with four chairs scattered around the long rectangular table in the middle.

In one of the table was another student scanning through novels. It looked like he was doing a biography. But what caught his gaze was his hairstyle. His bangs were sticking up like a Mohawk and a long ponytail hanging by his neck.

'Nerds are looking weirder everyday'


	2. Renaissance

**Divine Connection**

_A/N: This story takes place after the prologue of the first OVA; when Tamahome decides if he is willing to live in Miaka's world as Taka and in process, losing his memories._

_I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. They belong to Yuu Watase and co._

* * *

Chapter One: Renaissance

The weekends came and went in a quick motion. It was now Monday morning, the start of the day when students have to face a new week of school. Keisuke had not bothered to tell the others about the weird geek he saw last Saturday when they were in the library.

During the days of fun and school-free, they were still pretty busy from the assignments and projects that they got from school. Unfair, but that was life. School works aside, they still managed to go out and enjoy the two-day vacation.

The clock rang at exact five o'clock, waking the two residents of the apartment room. With a groan, Miaka poked her head out of her blanket and looked around for the noise. There, sitting on her bedside-table, was the alarm clock; the luminous numbers blinking at her. She pounded the snooze button and went back to sleep.

Without getting much sleep within the five minutes, the radio in her alarm clock started to blare. She reacted fast, thinking it was some kind of emergency. She sat up, flipped her covers and unsteadily stood up. Gaining some consciousness after a few while, she glared at her trusty clock and closed it off, getting ready for school.

The same thing did not happen to the dirty-blonde haired girl just across the hall. When the clock went off, she calmly went to her dresser and started to work on her knots before fixing up the bed. Knowing Miaka since kindergarten, she knew that she'll probably doze off again. She headed to the kitchen to work on their breakfast before she went in the shower.

The bell of their school would ring at seven-thirty and classes usually start at around seven-forty five. Blue uniforms with pleated skirts for girls and navy slacks for guys. Jonan High School was only ten blocks away from their building. Transportation was not necessary.

While Miaka took her turn in the bathroom, Yui was eating in the kitchen and at the same time, reviewing if she got everything for homework done. She sipped her hot cocoa after she was done digging her bag for her supplies. She popped a bacon in her mouth while she read her agenda to check if everything was done.

'Math…check. Physics, check. English…done…' as she went through the list, Miaka sat beside her grabbing a handful of each food on the table and pouring herself some juice.

It was already seven o' clock when they started to exit the house for school. Instead of taking the elevator, they used the stairs instead. It would be much faster than having to wait for the elevator in several minutes. It took them about half an hour to reach the school.

When they got to their destination, most students that they could hear talking were chatting about the usual TV shows, fashion, sports and music. But the one thing that they didn't expected to hear the most was the new students. Usually, new kids were not the most popular topic since they were not really interesting because…well, they were _new_.

"Aren't they _gorgeous_?"

"Look at those hairs!"

"Have you seen those _abs_?"

"They are so-o _sexy_!"

It looks like the new kids were hotties. Most of the conversations were being talked about by girls. Typical. They walked to the school grounds past the gate but they didn't go inside the building. They were waiting for their other friends.

The last time they saw them, they were asked if they saw the battle that nearly destroyed the whole country. The answer was obvious. No one in the whole island didn't see the fight. It was all over the news; TV, radio, newspaper, _everywhere_. But the two pretended that they only know as much as what everyone knows.

"Where could those two be?" Yui looked at her watch, impatiently tapping her foot. Fifteen more minutes before the class starts. She looked beside her and saw that Miaka was busy ogling the ice cream vendor, as usual.

Miaka averted her gaze from the temptation of her desire. As soon as she settled her sight on another place, she saw what she couldn't believe that she saw. A blue haired guy – bag slung over his shoulder – had his head buried on several books. But what caught her attention most was his hair. An unusual hair colour and style.

"Is that a new guy?" she asked, more to herself than to anyone. Yui didn't pay any attention to her friend, more convinced to wait for their other friends. "I'll be back, okay Yui?" with that, Miaka left her friend and headed to the guy. As she had gotten closer, she was able to look at his face more. She stopped just beside him and asked anxiously, "Chichiri!"

The said guy looked up from his reading and saw a girl beside him, looking at him if he had grown another head. "Umm…if you are talking to me, miss, my name is Ri Houjun. You may call me, Houjun, you know." He informed Miaka as she gaped at him. "May I be of a service?"

"Err…no. I just…um…want to talk. You look new." Miaka stuttered differently from her thoughts, 'Good going, Miaka. Walking over here, calling him a different name without a reason.' She continued to look over him and saw that he very much looked like the monk she once knew; blue hair sticking up, cheerful face with a slight scar over the left eye and the '_you know'_ that he repeatedly says. "Sorry about that. You just remind me of him."

"It's okay, you know. I forgive you." Houjun told her. As she was studying him, he had the share of doing the same thing. Since a long silence happened while they were looking at each other, he couldn't help but feel a little recognition of the girl. "And I know the feeling." He continued after the comment '_you remind me of him._'

Miaka looked at the books beside him and an idea popped out. "May I see your schedule?"

"You certainly may, you know." Houjun answered back with another of his trademark.

Miaka just smiled at this, waiting for him to give her the piece of paper she wanted. She reached for it and saw that they have three subjects together with him. Out of four, it was not bad.

Jonan high school was three-story high building with an indoor pool, both outside and inside gym, a 300 meter track-and-field diameter and an ice-rink. Like all high school, it was semester-ed; four out of eight subjects in half of the year. But, unlike all high schools, this had a good cafeteria and school grounds, where students could eat delicious foods in clean places.

"Hey Houjun, we have English, History and Home Ec. together. I can show you around the school grounds, if you want." Miaka invited the new freshman. She looked at him, waiting for an answer. Then before he could give one, she said, "You can hang with me and my friends. Is it going to bug you if were all girls?"

"Umm…thanks for the offer but there's this guys I promised that I would hang with. He's new too…uhh…I think. But we have the same schedule, you know. Maybe you can give us a tour or something…" Houjun trailed off; declining the latter offer. He looked over her shoulder and saw another girl coming their way. He then switched his gaze to his watch and looked around for the others that he was going with.

The bell was going to ring soon, but the other newcomer had still not met up with him. Thinking that they changed their minds, Houjun picked up his bag and stuffed his things inside. Miaka and Yui waited for him as he slung the bag on his shoulder. Once again, he looked around for the guys he was supposed to be with.

When the sound echoed around the school grounds, Miaka and Yui started to walk, leaving Houjun in his thoughts whether or not he would follow them or wait for the other guys. Choosing the first thought – because he didn't want to be late in his first day of school – he followed the two girls inside the building. After some turns and stairs, Miaka showed him his locker while they went off to put their bags in theirs as well.

The two girls hurried and met up with Houjun by his locker, which was only a classroom locker away from them. They saw that he was done with all the stacking and readying and was only waiting for them. First class was History. The two girls sighed in annoyance even if they do this everyday as a daily weekday routine. Who in their right mind would want to spend the beginning of the day in something so…boring?

"C'mon it's right this way." Miaka dragged herself down the hall and turned twice. Once they reached their destination – room 318 – Yui opened the door for them and instead of heading towards her seat, she went to the teacher to announce that they have a new student.

"Very well. Thank you, Ms. Hongo. You may take a seat." Her teacher responded to her statement. Ms. Karin, the well-known history teacher dismissed her student and gestured Houjun to come in. She introduced him to class. "Class, may I have your attention please. CLASS!"

The students stopped their chatting and diverted their now undivided attention to the teacher who had a stern expression pasted on her face. They looked at the young man beside her and Houjun blushed because of the unaccustomed stares.

"This is Ri Houjun. He's homeroom is 10-4. It would be gratitude if someone will show him around the school. Now Ri-san, please introduce yourself." Ms. Karin turned to Houjun as he fiddled his thumb.

"Uh…thanks, Ms…er…Karin. I mean, Ms. Karin." Houjun hastily said to cover his mistake about forgetting the teacher's name. "Well…I'm originally from Kyoto and transferred here three days ago. I like to read, you know and I really like legends, especially about the Chinese Four Gods"

After he mentioned the four gods, both Yui and Miaka looked at each other with a surprise and bewildered look. When Ms. Karin asked Houjun to sit down, he went directly two chairs behind Miaka and settled himself there. As he passed he chestnut haired girl, he gave her a small smile and she looked at him gently, returning the greeting.

"…this war is said to have –" Ms. Karin stopped when the door banged against the wall. Two more students came running inside. One with fiery red locks and the other was midnight blue.

"Hey Yui, isn't those the guys in the club?" Miaka was familiar with the two new students and her friend gave her a simple nod.

"Gentlemen! You are late and have interrupted the lessons. May I know your names please." The history teacher lectured and looked down on the bowing-with-respect teenage boys.

"We're sorry, sensei. We got lost." He excused after he looked up. Miaka gasped in recognition with him.

'Tasuki!' she covered her mouth with two hands before she could yell the name. She didn't want detention from disturbing the already disturbed class. 'First Chichiri and now Tasuki. Who is with him?' Miaka squinted her eyes to get a good look at the other guy. Again, she stifled a gasp. 'KOUJI!'

"With pleasure, ma'am." Then he turned to the class. "My name is Narimoto Kouji an' mah bud's name is Kou Shun'u." he said with Kansai dialect.

'?' that was all that Miaka could think about. "Wha-? How…they don't have their seishi name but they use their original names? Are…do they have the memories of what happened in the book?" she was entirely confuse of the whole situation. "But Kouji's name didn't change…" she whispered to herself.

Ms. Karin glared at the two and just sighed for their behaviours. She shook her head and then told them to go to the other two vacant seats. One was beside the window and the other was in just three rows to the right of Yui. As soon as they were all settled down, the teacher continued her lesson about the Second World War.

'They even have the Kansai dialect.' Miaka continued to ponder and disregarded the teacher who was calling her name to answer a question. "MS. YUUKI!" the shout had snapped her out of reverie and her head shot up to look at the angry professor.

"Yes, sensei."

"Where did a Japanese overland attack was led along the rugged Kokoda Track?"

"Um…on Port Moresby." Miaka answered but when she had said this, it came out more of a question.

"Good. But please try and concentrate on things, Ms. Yuuki." The teacher scolded lightly. It wasn't everyday that Miaka get the answer right on history questions especially if it had to do with eras.

"Yes, ma'am."

Within the hour and fifteen minutes, they talked about the Second World War, took up notes, answered questions and read from the book, The things that weren't completed were, of course, for homework. The bell had rung, signalling that it was time for the second class.

Kouji and Shun'u had caught up with Houjun who was with Miaka and Yui. The girls' second class was English. Houjun and Shun'u were with the girls and Kouji was off to gym.

"Hey Tas – I mean Shun'u, what subjects do you have?" Miaka asked the other guy who decided to tag along.

"Uhh… I have History, English, Computers an' Study Hall. I dunno why I didn't have to go t' my homeroom though."

"Oh, that. Well, we only go to our homerooms every Friday. So basically, we have five subjects in that day." Yui replied to ease his confusion.

"Buh what d'we do in homeroom?" he asked with his heavy accent.

"Nothing." Both girls replied in unison, not to mention, in bliss.

Shun'u couldn't believe what he was hearing. Free time! At **school**! The hell **had** frozen over. He was going to jump for joy if he hadn't been near their destination already, Room 211. The four of them sat down after Miaka told the two new guys where they can sit. The teacher, Mr. Kirashima, was one of the best teachers around.

He was kind and funny, not to mention a very good English teacher. In the meantime, they were doing different legends across the world. Miaka thought that Chichiri or Houjun, at that matter, would enjoy this class.

As usual, the teacher greeted his students and they did the same for him. The new students; Houjun Ri and Shun'u Kou – who used to be Chichiri and Tasuki – were introduced once again. But they needed not to go up to the front. They just stood up from their seat so they can be acknowledged.

Murmurs started to come. Most of them were whispers about 'hot guys.' All the while when Houjun was blushing, Shun'u was just smirking or smiling smugly; whichever was preferred. After the introduction they sat back down, but the rumours never ceased.

Mr. Kirashima coughed lightly to gain everyone's attention. Not like some teachers who shout to make their students notice their presence, this one was patient enough as he waited for his pupils to calm down.

* * *

Kouji, at his gym class, was playing soccer with the other guys. Girls were separated from guys in this subject. Since the girls were learning baseball, they were using the baseball diamond in the field.

Gym class were usually boring for Kouji since he was full of stealth and swiftness. But now, he had competition. This guy kept jumping from one place to another. One look and he was all over the place.

'He kinda looks like a geek, though.' Kouji was entertained with his own thoughts. He smirked as he passed the ball to one of his team-mates; not using too much force of course. He was also known as the one of the strongest guys in his old school, which he used to impress the ladies.

After passing the ball, he ran near the neat and saw the ball coming towards him. The khaki haired opponent jumped from nowhere and got the ball from him, directing it to another direction.

Growling with annoyance, he chased the guy and tried to steal the ball from him. But the guy just kicked it to a place where no one was and Kouji smiled smugly. 'This guy can't aim, ha!' he thought.

He ran after the ball but the same guy, who used to be behind him, appeared in front of him once again. 'What the-'

"Good work Bu!" The teacher for the guys' gym class, Mr. Shinta, called out. "Three more minutes before switch up!" he informed the team.

By the time he whistled, the players who were on the floor sat down and changed their places with their classmates who had not played. Before Kouji sat down, he looked for the guy whose last name was Bu. He saw the khaki haired teen with a blue bandana on his head. Deciding to talk to confront him, Kouji followed the boy.

"Oi!" He caught up and tapped the other on his shoulder. He waited for Bu to turn and face him. "What's your name?"

The boy just smiled at him and said, "Oh, you're the new guy, am I right? My name is Bu Koutoku. And you would be Narimoto Kouji? You may just call me by my first name."

'Whoa. What a friendly guy.' Kouji thought softly. 'Very different from what I've seen from him when he played the game.' Then, with a very god timing, they heard 'Bro!' they turned their heads and he saw the guy he was talking to. 'Eh?'

"This is my twin brother, Bu Shunkaku." Koutoku introduced.

* * *

A figure slowly walked through the sidewalk, being careful as he followed the two college guys. He was wearing normal clothes as to not divert anyone's attention to him, blowing his cover.

His hands going to the side of his face, he whispered slowly, "Boss, he's going to Ration College. A…a cooking school?"

He was taken aback by the new information. After listening to the ear piece, he whispered once again, "Yes. The Ration College."

* * *

"Hey Keisuke." The said boy looked at his friend, his eyebrows rose questioningly. "Do you see that woman who keeps following us?"

Tetsuya kept glancing at his back from time to time and he saw the lady in black – the one in the apartment building – following them with some distance. Of course, he was discreet when he was looking back.

He saw his friend turning to look behind them when he hissed rapidly, "**Don't **look. She'll suspect a thing."

With that, Keisuke pretended to look at the scenery passing by him, but he was watching the so-called lady from the corners of his eyes. Then he said, "Maybe she's going to the same school as us."

"With a suit?"

"Well…why not? I mean, she could be one of the supply teachers or somethin'."

"Wearing a _suit_?" Tetsuya repeated again, emphasizing the word by putting more syllable than one. "In a _cooking school_?" He emphasized once again. He looked at Keisuke and saw him shrugged.

"Ngh…maybe she's new. I dunno. Why are you asking me?" Miaka's brother lazily answered his friend. He took one last glance at the stalker then continued to walk away.

* * *

"Yuuki, Miaka. Please come to the office immediately. That's Yuuki, Miaka." Ms. Rina, the principal, announced through the P.A system.

Miaka looked at the teacher for her dismissal and when she got the approval, she stood up and left. When she reached the main office, she saw a couple of cops standing beside the principal.

"Miss Yuuki?" one of them asked. She nodded her head and the cop continued. "Your brother and his friend are currently at the station." He informed her.

Stunned by this, Miaka looked at the cops disbelievingly; her eyes going to and from the two officers and the principal. The principal broke her trance, "Miaka, you may go with these two."

When she comprehended the statement, she went to her locker to get her things, leaving Yui for science class – their third period. She left the school building, following the cops.

* * *

"Keisuke! What have you done this time!" Miaka demanded as soon as she barged in the questioning room. She walked fast to her brother who was beside Tetsuya.

"What do you mean _this time_? Last time I checked, **you** were the one who got stuck in a book!" Keisuke screamed back, taking offence at his sister. Tetsuya, in a calming rate, answered the question…demand.

"This lady mistook us for terrorists. Well…_me_ for a terrorist. We told her that we're not but she wouldn't believe us."


End file.
